09/10/09: Southwest vs. Steele

Time runs out on Steele, as Darion Ray catches a ball at the Southwest 8-yard line but can't get out of bounds as time expires. Southwest wins 14-13.

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Steele goes for it on 4th and inches from inside the Southwest 1 yard line and Sergent does not get in. Southwest leads 14-13 with 2:13 remaining.

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Sergent finds Blake Gardner for a 23-yard gain down to the Southwest 5 on 4th and 6.

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Steele had about a 32-yard touchdown set up on a wonderful play-action fake by quarterback Nick Sergent, but Sergent slipped to the ground while rolling left with Darion Ray wide open in the end zone down the field.

4:52 left, with Steele facing 4th and 6 from the Southwest 28. The Knights are going for it.

The third quarter ends with Southwest, leading 14-13, amid a drive that has reached the Steele 20-yard line.

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Tre'vion Johnson has just given Southwest its first lead of the game. He scored on a 4th-and-inches pitch left, marching untouched to the end zone for a 14-13 lead. He has 200 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

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Those first-half miscues have already crept into the second half. Steele drove to the Southwest 28-yard line, but lost a fumble on a fumbled snap, giving Southwest a big opportunity trailing 13-7 with 9:26 left in the third quarter.

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We're at halftime with Steele still holding on 13-7.

The battle of the two running backs, Steele's Malcolm Brown and Southwest's Tre'vion Johnson, has lived up to its billing. Johnson has 142 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries at the half, while Brown has 115 yards and a score on nine carries.

Really, though, the story of the half has been missed opportunities. Steele quarterback Nick Sergent has had TD runs of 89 and 45 yards negated because of penalty,

Likewise, Southwest has had its share of errors. Driving deep into Steele territory on its opening possession, Southwest fumbled a handoff for a costly turnover. Later, a potential 93-yard touchdown pass went for naught as a wide-open Dragons wideout dropped an on-the-nose throw by Felix Castillo.

What will be worth watching in the second half is which supporting staff surrounding the star tailbacks steps up. So far, Johnson has accounted for about 75-plus percent of Southwest's offense. But the Knights have a plethora of players not named Brown making big plays.

Continue reading after the bump for more first-half analysis.

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Tre'vion Johnson pulls Southwest closer thanks to a nifty 28-yard touchdown run in which he broke a pair of tacklers. The TD leaves Southwest trailing 13-7 with 4:25 left in the first half.

Johnson and Brown have both clipped the 100-yard mark in the half.

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Oh, those tricky Knights. Alfonso Trammell takes a fake punt for a first down and, one play later, scores on a 16-yard run to push Steele's lead to 13-0 with 8:30 left in the second quarter.

The extra point was no good, as the snap was bad and holder Nick Sergent was unable to run it in.

It's worth nothing that if an opponent keys in solely on stopping Malcolm Brown, they're making a major mistake. Trammell and Sergent are flashing tremendous big-play ability tonight. And, again, that's even with star wide receiver Sheldon McClain shelved.

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It's worth noting that Steele's stud wide receiver, Sheldon McClain, is dressed tonight but is not playing. Word in the press box is that he suffered a minor injury last week and is being held out for precautionary reasons.

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Southwest just missed a major opportunity for a big-play strike.

Felix Castillo's deep pass to a wide-open wideout was dropped. It appeared to hit his facemask and went off his hands, incomplete. With Southwest backed up on its own 7-yard line, it might have very well gone for a 93-yard score had it been caught.

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This just isn't shaping up to be Nick Sergent's night.

The shifty quarterback just ran for a 45-yard score, gliding, dancing and juking his way down the field.

It was called back because of an illegal block in the back.

It's his second TD run called back tonight. He had an 89-yarder earlier this quarter.

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Malcolm Brown just showed why he's in a class almost all to himself when it comes to area running backs.

Taking a pitch to the left, Brown turned the corner, brushing off an attempted tackler who hit him high, and took off down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. A Southwest defender dove for him at midfield and appeared to nip Brown's heel, but he kept his balance and was gone.

Steele leads 7-0 with 3:03 left in the opening quarter. Brown has 100 yards on four carries.

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The penalty on Sergent's touchdown has come back to bite the Knights, as they're forced to punt.

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An interesting formation to keep an eye on is Steele's version of the Wildcat. They opened the game in that formation, and Malcolm Brown rumbled for a huge gain that was negated by a holding penalty.

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A 89-yard touchdown run by Steele quarterback Nick Sergent is negated because of an illegal chop block penalty. Still scoreless with 6:44 left.

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Southwest's big play has been negated by a big one from Steele. The Knights recovered a fumbled handoff to Clifford Carter at their own 15-yard-line, staving off the lengthy drive by Southwest. We're scoreless with 7:41 left in the opening quarter.

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We're less than three minutes into this game and already a big moment has emerged. Southwest went for it on 4th and 2 on the Steele 18-yard line, and running back Tre'vion Johnson picked up the first down with a run up the middle.

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Here at the recently renamed Lehnhoff Stadium, home of the Steele Knights, waiting for tonight's game between Steele and Southwest.

From the no-brianer department, this game could be all about which star running back outdoes the other. Steele has junior Malcolm Brown, fresh off a 200-plus-yard, four-touchdown performance, while Southwest has Tre'vion Johnson, who opened the season two weeks ago with 266 yards and three scores.

Looked like Steele's defense lost technique discipline. watch the Defensive line play. SW just took the Steele athleticsism out of play by running right at them. Better quarterbacking from both teams will be hard to come by--good luck. Other teams can find a way to do that as well. An early lost means they have time to figure it out.

Wow, even after the atrocious officiating, the Knights should have won that game. I have to blame the coach for this one. Run a pass play with 9 seconds to go and dont get out of bounds. Great play call there.
Was that the same crew that called last years SW-Steele game? It sure looked like them.